'Vacation' Gets Back to Work

If you're interested in hurling bad fruit at the studios over once again dusting off a classic from years gone by, the line forms to the left. New Line is making "a sequel of sorts" to National Lampoon's Vacation, which will be produced by David Dobkin, and The Hollywood Reporter says he might also direct. Dobkin has one undeniable success on his resume - Wedding Crashers - but Fred Claus, Clay Pigeons, and Shanghai Knights don't add up to very much. Still, provided a good story can be developed, Dobkin could be a decent choice. Speaking of the story, it's now Rusty's turn to load up the family roadster, and there will apparently be opportunities for Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo to make cameos, but nothing's set in stone. Would you want Anthony Michael Hall back as Rusty? Technically, it wouldn't matter since Hall was only Rusty in the original film and three different actors played the character in the sequels. But it was the first thing that came to mind. My hunch would be that they'd look to a well-established comedic actor for the role, and the more money they have, the bigger name they could attract. I also have a hunch that it won't matter to a lot of you, since you may have already imposed a ban on this film out of principle. Before you do, the studio is apparently making a conscious effort to craft this more in the vein of "Planes, Trains and Automobiles or Little Miss Sunshine than RV or Are We There Yet?" Still, there is an uneasy feeling associated with this was one of the first major John Hughes screenplays and he passed away so recently.

Comments

[Jennifer Perry]

Definately want ANTHONY MICHAEL HALL to star as Rusty. As far as a "well established comedic ator" AMH IS well established. He's gotten the shaft from Hollywood for some reason. If AMH is not Rusty, I will NOT go see the movie. The film studios of Hollywood have been cheating fans by not casting AMH in major movies.

NUFF SAID!!

[nick soapdish]

I didn't know Anthony Michael Hall's mother read this blog.